The Video I Made in 10 Minutes Beat Everything I Overcomplicated

A video I made in ten minutes beat the ones I spent hours on.

That forced me to face something I didn’t want to admit: a lot of what I called “hard work” and “progress” was just overcomplicating the real work.

In this episode:

• How I convinced myself that hours of production per video was "doing the work"
• The TikTok I rushed in ten minutes that got more views than anything I'd ever made
• Why my TikTok coach told me my setup was actually hurting my growth
• The real reason I kept going back to the old way even after I had proof it wasn't working
• What I call "the packaging" and why it felt so much safer than just hitting record
• The one question I ask myself now whenever I catch myself overcomplicating something
• What actually changed about how I feel on camera now, and what didn't

Transcript

Some of you know me as a content creator because you came across me on Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn. What I've never shared before is that it used to take me three to four hours just to make one video. I know you don't even have to say anything. Okay. I already know. And not only that, it had to be filmed at just the right time of the day, somewhere between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM because that's when the light coming through.

My window was just perfect. But before I even started filming anything, I felt like I had to have all the gear, the lights, the right backdrop, the pro-level microphone with the road caster.

I also had to make sure that my hair and makeup looked good, right? I had to put on a cute outfit and be in the right frame of mind, and of course, I had to know what to say. So I usually spent an hour just on that part after all of that work, figuring out what to say and how to look.

I was often exhausted. I had no energy left to film with, so then my videos ended up super weird. Or I tried to do retakes, which was even more exhausting. I thought this is what it took to make good content. I thought I was doing the work.

Now maybe you're not a content creator, but I'm guessing you've got your own version of this with something you keep over complicating because you're convinced all the extra steps are necessary today, I'm.

Today I'm sharing what it took for me to figure out that all of my extra steps were actually the problem and what I do now to catch myself before I fall back into it.

Because I think a lot of us do this and we don't even realize it.

So back in the day when I first decided to start making videos for real, the first thing I did is study how other people do it. So I'm watching creators on YouTube and TikTok, and I'm admiring how knowledgeable they sound and they look so good and really professional.

So then I'm thinking about how I look, and what I'm wearing, and how my space looks and whether the lighting is hitting just right. And don't forget knowing exactly what I was going to cover in the video.

Again, this felt like what I was supposed to be doing. Like this is how real content creators show up. 

And I guess it's kind of like how I approach packing for a trip. You know, where you keep throwing more stuff into the suitcase because you think you might need it, like another two tops or a dress or more shoes just in case. I'm visiting my parents in Alabama this week, so packing is kind of top of mind. And can I just say that this might be the first trip I haven't overpacked because I actually had extra room in my luggage, OMG. 

Anyway, me and overpacking for everything I might need was what I did with content.

Every extra bit of effort felt necessary, and I didn't see that the suitcase was becoming impossible to carry. So that was me for like the first five months on TikTok. 

And then one day I was running late to go hold office hours, and I hadn't done my TikTok for the day yet.

I had about 15 minutes before office hours started. So I rushed my TikTok and pushed out a 35 second video in about 10 minutes. I was like, eh, not my best, but whatever. This is sloppy, but hey, at least I did it. 

That video broke a hundred thousand views, and up until then, the most I'd ever gotten was 23,000 views. And most of my stuff, like to be honest, got more like two to 5,000 views. So you can imagine I was shook. I was like, seriously, the one that took me like 10 minutes is the one that gets traction.

So then I'm thinking, okay, I'm no dummy. I'm gonna do this more. But when I tried to do it, it was hard. I don't know if you've ever sat down and made videos on a regular basis, but it's kind of hard to put out 30-second videos and also make it useful.

Long story short, I tried to do more quick videos, but then I kept sliding back into the old way of doing things, like writing everything out and trying to teach people everything I felt like they needed to know about a topic, and just spending overall a whole lot of time. 

Another two months go by.

I am growing on TikTok, but it's pretty slow. And some weeks I actually go backwards because I lose more followers than I'm gaining. 

So finally, I hired this TikTok coach to do an audit. He's really great, by the way. His handle is @jacksonstips, if you wanna look him up. Jackson tells me to stop using the backdrop, the lighting, and just go natural because the setup just doesn't fit the TikTok vibe. He tells me to film wherever I feel most comfortable in my house. I look at his feedback and I'm like, yep, that makes a lot of sense.

But then I just went right back to what I was doing because honestly, it's hard when you've established a routine to just change it up. It feels really weird. And I can also be hardheaded. I'm not the person who knocks the vending machine over on the first try. It usually takes me a little bit of rocking it back and forth before I finally get it.

So I keep going the old way for another two to three months, and little by little I'm integrating his feedback here and there, like a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. And eventually it all finally clicks. That's when I realize that trying to do the involved setup was actually hurting my growth.

It wasn't just that it was unnecessary, but it was actually working against me. By the time I got through arranging all the conditions to be just right, I was too tired to actually make the damn video. On top of that, it was creating more distance between me and the people that I was trying to reach. 

See, the vibe that I actually wanted was more like how it is in the South here. Like someone is just sipping ice tea in the afternoon on their porch, and they're just chatting with their friend. 

It's obvious now, but back then, to me it wasn't obvious that that doesn't really fit with the perfectly lit studio and having all these bells and whistles. I think I was coming off super unnatural and maybe even performative. I may have even told Jackson that my worst fear was that I was coming off like a broadcast journalist on the evening news. Yeah. 

And I think it's crazy because the stuff that I thought was getting me closer to my goal was actually pushing it further away.

I also had to learn the hard way that trying to have this perfect setup, like having all of this stuff in place before I even pressed record, like normally all of the stuff that I call the packaging, it was never really about the quality. I was avoiding the part that really scared me, which was just being on camera, like seeing myself and not loving what I saw, not liking the sound of my voice and feeling icky about all of it.

But the packaging was the part I could control.

Working on the packaging made me feel like I was doing something. And unfortunately it was eating up all the energy that could have gone into putting in more reps on the content itself, which is the only thing that would actually make me better at this. 

So I was getting some reps in, like it wasn't nothing. And the reps were super cringey for sure. Like those earlier TikToks are still up on my account if you're willing to scroll that far back. I don't love seeing them, but I'm not taking them down because they're my reminder that there's only so much confidence you can build through preparing. At some point you gotta go out there and let the cringe just hang out because there's no other way to do it.

And I know the cringey part sucks. It really does. But I also found out that the more I showed up and did it, the faster I got it over with.

So these days, whenever I start feeling like I'm about to overcomplicate things or let's be honest, I might already be overcomplicating something. I ask myself: is this the simplest way I can do this and still meet the goal? Usually my answer is no, and there's at least a few things I can strip out of the process. 

It's been slow, but pretty steady growth, so I'm happy about that. I've had people tell me they love my videos and they stopped scrolling to watch them on LinkedIn, and lots of people have reached out to say that I seem really comfortable on camera. 

I will say that I am more comfortable on camera, but definitely not a hundred percent. And honestly, I still feel a little cringey and awkward most of the time. I've just accepted that it might keep going that way, and I'm okay with that. That's just how it is for me. 

And it's not that I love being awkward on camera, but I decided that I wanna build a brand more than I hate being awkward on camera. Like, being awkward is not a good enough reason to stop doing any of this, and I know that I can't keep going if I keep making it harder for myself.

So no matter what I'm doing, my one and only goal ever is to make it simpler, easier, and more natural for me, because then I know I can keep putting in the reps. 

Okily dokily. That's it for this week.

If you know someone who's been stuck in preparing mode and they're not putting the thing out there, would you send them this episode?

Or if this is you, feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what you think. You can reach me on LinkedIn or text the link in the description.

As always, thank you so much for listening, and remember, I believe in you. See you next time.